Abu Hamza sentenced to life in prison in US

The radical Muslim preacher Abu Hamza has been sentenced to life in prison by a New York court after being found guilty of supporting terrorist organizations.

He was jailed for
offences including efforts to launch an Al-Qaeda training camp in
the US and aiding hostage takers in Yemen.

Hamza, 56, appear at the US District Court in Manhattan at 1500
GMT on Friday.

Hamza, whose real name is Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, was convicted of
11 charges in May last year. During his trial, jurors heard a
tape in which Hamza said: “Everybody was happy when the
planes hit the World Trade Center.”

He was found guilty of facilitating the 1998 abduction of 16
Western tourists by providing Yemeni kidnappers with advice and a
satellite phone. Four hostages – three Britons and an Australian
– were killed in the operation.

He was also convicted of conspiring to set up a terror training
camp by sending two followers to the US state of Oregon to
establish a militant training camp in 1999.

Furthermore, he was found guilty of providing material support to
Al-Qaeda, assisting the Taliban and sending terror recruits to
Afghanistan.

Prosecutors urged a life sentence for a man they called a
“global terrorist leader who orchestrated plots around the
world.”

His lawyers said the court should take Hamza’s disabilities into
account – including being blind in one eye, having had both
forearms amputated, diabetes and high blood pressure – when
handing down sentence.

They argued he should not receive a life sentence and that Hamza
should be sent to a prison medical facility instead of a maximum
security prison.

Hamza revealed he lost his hands in an accidental explosion two
decades ago in Pakistan, where he claimed he was working as an
engineer.

The Egyptian-born father of nine gained notoriety for encouraging
violence, as he spread inflammatory messages at the London
Finsbury Park Mosque, which he led, following the 9/11 attacks on
the World Trade Center.